I’ve mentioned my love of tacos before. I really love them. I am not sure what it is? I am a fan of soft tacos and crunchy tacos. Chicken, beef or veggie. All of them. I am really a fan of most Mexican food.

That’s why I decided to make my own taco seasoning. Clearly I need lots of it.

It’s very simple and you probably already have most of the ingredients in your spice cabinet.

I am all about a short cut for easier cooking but when you look at a list of ingredients this long and then you think about flavor it can be better achieved by making your own concoction!

Shake it up in a mason jar and it a look a little something like this.

To one pound of ground turkey, chicken or beef, add 4 tablespoons of seasoning and 1/3-1/2 cup water. Stir until the meat is coated and the water dissolves.

Make sure to conduct an official taste test and add more seasoning if desired 😉

I like to line my crunchy taco shells in the oven and prop them up with an oven safe bowl if needed, to get crispy before stuffing them with meat and cheese and baking a minute more so the cheese will melt.

Then I use a plastic baggie with the end cut off to pipe the sour cream into the tacos without making a complete mess.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add bacon and scallions and saute until bacon starts to crisp and scallions are wilted, 4-5 minutes. Add mushrooms and lightly sprinkle with salt. Continue cooking until mushrooms have lost most of their moisture or around 5-7 minutes.

Add peas, butter and broth and season to taste with salt and pepper. Simmer about 10 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half. Meanwhile, cook pasta in boiling water stirring occasionally until al dente. Drain pasta. Add pasta to the skillet with the sauce and toss to coat. Remove from heat and add cheese. Toss again.

The last city on our trip was Seattle. All the cities were wonderful for many different reasons but I think this one might have been the favorite. It had everything we could have hoped for in terms of cool neighborhoods, culture, attractions, athletic teams, schools and last and most importantly FOOD!

Our first day in Seattle we spent exploring.

We found Pike Place Market which was amazing.

The iconic sign above the market.

I cannot imagine having this much fresh seafood available to me every day.

EVERY DAY!!

What about this produce too! It is like a year round farmers market.

After acting like total tourists walking around with our mouths open and watching the fish market employees throw fish and banter back and forth, we found lunch.

The Market Grill is a small restaurant with a bar counter large enough for maybe 10 people.

They cook the food to order from their very small menu.

Friendly employees like this guy take your order, get your drinks and chat you up while you are waiting and while another employee makes the food.

We started off with the chowder. I prefer New England Clam Chowder but theirs was tasty too.

All of the bread that comes with the chowder and the bread for the sandwiches comes from Le Panier, a bakery inside Pike Place. This sets the stage for this delicious sandwich.

Then we both had a sandwich. Halibut for her and Salmon for him. These sandwiches were just perfect and really let the fish shine through. On each sandwich the fish is blackened but not overpowering. The seasoning they use is salt free so that wasn’t an issue either. They have caramelized onions, lettuce and tomato. The halibut sandwich has tarter sauce and the salmon has a rosemary mayo. Both were awesome.

We actually ate here twice and on vacation that is saying a lot.

The only thing that would make this place even better would be beer. Shocker.

First of all they have a fabulous happy hour which we found to be quite the requirement for lots of dinner serving restaurants in Seattle.

These pizzas were only $6 a piece (!?) and included creative ingredients like the:

Clam, Pancetta and Chile Pizza

Duck Egg, Coppa and Garlicky Greens Pizza

They were both fantastic and went along great with the house wines ($5?) and tap beers ($4?).

Good find.

Our hotel was two blocks from the Space Needle and the Monorail so we got plenty of pictures of it.

We started off the next day with donuts at Top Pot. I had seen this place on the Food Network so naturally we had to go.

Pumpkin for me.

Chocolate glazed for him.

After that we headed over to explore the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation visitor center. This place was awesome. Extremely informative and interactive. It doesn’t seem like a place you might scope out on vacation but I would highly recommend it. If you don’t think you will ever make it out that way there are lots of cool things you can learn about on their web site too.

Then we took a short bus ride to The University of Washington Campus.

This campus was spectacular. We felt like we were in college again as we talked about what it would have been like to go to school so far away (we both attended state schools) and how pretty the campus was. Then we learned that you had to have a 4.0 to even be considered and our daydreams quickly vanished. 🙂

But our self guided tour went on!

When it concluded we decided to take the advice of a handsome stranger we met on the street and go to this place:

Thai Tom. Located in the University District (a favorite neighborhood of mine) this small gem is packed wall to wall even after the lunch rush should be long over.

A large menu is painted on a small number of board like menus and one is given to each table when you arrive.

Then all the wonderful and fragrant food is cooked in this teeny tiny kitchen out in the open. Pure genius!

We started off with these tiny spring rolls.

Followed by Pan Ang Curry

And Pad Thai. Folks, although I have not been to Thailand this was the best Thai I have ever had. If you are in Seattle you must go here.

That afternoon we took a tour by land and sea. Ridiculous although amusing. This tour hit the really touristy places like the Sleepless in Seattle boat house, Grey’s Anatomy filming spots, 50 Shades of Grey Condo and The Deadliest Catch Boat. I warned you it was ridiculous.

Picturesque though.

After that it was off to dinner!

I’m going to say it again. I haven’t been to Japan but this was good sushi.

At Japonessa downtown- I wanted everything on their menu but settled for this.

The sushi set.

and this……the Super Bad Boy.

The Shrimp Tempura roll. Boring choice maybe but delicious.

A night cap at Tap House with 159 beers on tap rounded out the fun filled day. Single ladies in Seattle? This is the place to be. The men to women ratio in this place was at least 15:1.

The last day of our trip we began with a tour of the Seahawks Stadium! We wished that we had time to tour the baseball stadium as well but the tours were too close together. Next time!

We toured the field and got a back stage pass to all the ins and outs of this unique stadium.

We gave a press conference about our opinions on the Green Bay/Seahawks game while we were at it!

After that we went back to Pike Place for another sandwich!

Then we took the ferry to Bainbridge Island. I wish we had done this sooner as we loved this island and all it had to offer.

We had to hurry back on the Ferry so we didn’t miss our dinner reservations!

The Pink Door was hard to find and did not disappoint! It had come highly recommended to us by cousins who were turned on to it by an aunt and uncle. Lot’s of family in this place. Tucked away in an alley inside Pike Place this Italian restaurant was romantic and old world. (It is also extremely dark as you will see)

Our server, Terrance, was the bomb. I am going to go out on a limb here and give him the “Best Server of the Trip” award. What up Terrance?!?!

Their lasagna is made with a bechamel sauce, which I adore.

Our salads were great too but we were hungry and they didn’t make the cut.

The Cioppino was chock-full of mussels, clams, prawns, fish and calamari.

After our fabulous weekend in Portland we were off to Vancouver! By train! This was my sidekick’s first train ride. EVER! So I had to document the trip of course. We made the fancy $20 upgrade to Business Class and if you are ever traveling by train I would highly recommend this. You board and exit first, you have lots of extra leg room, seats that recline further and you get bar coupons.

So “All Aboard” the train we went.

Meet Ray. He was our train conductor and had a good sense of humor. He was kind of dry if you can’t tell from the picture.

We arrived in Vancouver late that night. The next morning we headed out on an exciting excursion. We took a bus to a place called the Grouse Grind. I was unaware when I suggested this outing that I was about to embark on the most physically challenging task of.my.life.

The Grind is a 2,830 step hike up a 2,800 foot elevation gain. Now when I say steps I don’t mean the ordinary kind that take you from the first floor in your house to the second. Oh no. These stairs were a combination of logs and rocks both big and small.

Only 100,000 people a year complete this breath taking thief. Now, I am one of them. 2012 baby.

1/4 of the way up I swear I wanted to go back down.

I was all smiles at the bottom but by the time we made it all the way I was hanging on to a rope that had been provided because it was so steep. I even bought a tshirt that reads “I Survived the Grind”. I deserve a trophy I think. Don’t you?

The trek back down is so steep that they practically beg you not to try climb back down. Instead they take your money offer rides for $10 to the bottom in a sky rail.

Here is the view of the mountain we climbed on the way down.

Apparently it takes the average hiker 1 hour and 45 minutes to climb the whole thing. I’d like to meet that average hiker. I thought I was an average hiker but I wasn’t done in that short amount of time so I guess I will have to find a new way to boost my ego. The fastest time ever recorded was some sort of super human who made it up in 23 minutes. Now I’d really like to meet that guy.

That night as you can imagine we were famished. We found a cute little restaurant on Granville Street that turned out to be one of our favorite restaurants over all of the trip, The Twisted Fork . The food was great and the atmosphere was friendly and intimate.

I mentioned how hungry we were so you have to understand that I only remembered to take two pictures while we were eating. And I call myself a food blogger?

The second delicious plate of scallops on our trip. These had a potato mash and corn relish with bacon.

We also had a refreshing bottle of white wine, the Halibut Cakes and the Trout which were both delicious and beautifully presented.

And this pretty dessert with a powdered sugar twisted fork!

Our compliments to the chef! And our sweet waitress whose name has escaped me.

The next day we saw the sights and took a trip to Granville Island.

I have mixed feelings about this adorable little island.

While we were there we visited a unique local brewery, appropriately named Granville Island Brewery. They were Canada’s first microbrewery and opened in 1984.

This was our tour guide. He was fun and informative. He knows his beer too. We thought it was funny though because he says periodically he will take a break from drinking. I think it would be tough to work in a brewery and do that but you are better man than I.

On our tour we were fortunate to meet two nice guys from San Francisco and their friend who was a Vancouverite. We all had a great time learning about their beer making process and an even better time trying their brew.

It was our first time tasting ginger beer which has become pretty popular. I am not sure I would ever order one on its own but I can definitely see how it would be good with sushi. This also started my determined vacation search for the best sushi I have ever eaten. More on that later.

With a shorter than originally planned trip to Stanley Park. I really wish we had more time to spend here because it was stunning. Lush and green on a day with perfect weather.

The park provides a great view of the city.

As well as friendly and abundant wild life!

Grilled Romaine. Also one of my favorite at home recipes!

Not sure why these little guys were so good but they were. They had sea salt to sprinkle on after you slathered on the butter. Maybe that was it?

Additional dipping sauces.

We also got dessert. It was good but I am not really a chocolate person.

This was my meal. It might have been my favorite meal of the trip just because it was sampling of their whole menu on one plate. It is also my favorite trip picture of food on the whole trip.

I just had a most amazing trip to the Pacific Northwest. This post went on for days so I broke it up into 3. Just in case you ever plan a trip out that way, maybe these posts will give you some good ideas one where to start and what to do.

We started off our trip visiting our cousins Morgan and Chris. Let me tell you all right now that you are going to wish you had a Morgan and a Chris too because they were most hospitable!

When Morgan picked us up at the airport we headed straight to Multnomah Falls. Morgan packed a great picnic with fruit, cheese, nuts and spreads but I was so hungry I forgot to take a picture!

We hiked several hundred feet to the bridge below and then hiked several hundred more to the top of the water fall. The view from the top overlooks the massive Columbia River. Worth the hike to the top for sure.

On the way home from the falls, to get ready for dinner, we stopped for a snack-time milkshake. They live right outside the city and the Skyline serves up a fantastic malt or milkshake. So good in fact that this was not our only stop here during the weekend. They split our vanilla malt in half so we could save room for dinner.

Our hosts felt silly for taking us to a Southern restaurant when we were so far from home but we are glad this didn’t stop them because the Screen Door was fantastic. The vibe of this restaurant was very laid back and they had a great main menu with a specials list that changes frequently.

We had a little bit of everything.

Beet Salad with Goat Cheese

Cornbread

Fried Green Tomatoes

Jambalaya

Shrimp and Grits

Fried Chicken.

This fried chicken deserves southern praise. It was boneless!! And some of the best I’ve ever had which I feel like says a lot considering where we live.

No that wasn’t everything we ordered and yes there were only 4 of us.

The next morning we were up early so we could to head to Willamette Valley for some wine tasting. But don’t worry, we ate a big breakfast before we left.

It started out with some of the best coffee to ever hit these lips at Stumptown. They opened in 1999 and I hope they never ever close (i see no reason they ever would) because I have to have this coffee again.

Menu

Cheerful staff

Coffee

Next we headed to a trendy spot for Breakfast/Brunch named Mother’s Bistro.

This from scratch spot serves up classics in a fancy way.

Yummy, nutritious and a great way to kick start your liver before wine tasting!

Traditional Benedict (the staff at this restaurant are so nice that they let you get 1/2 orders if you just can’t decide)

Biscuits and Gravy. 1/2 order.

This stack was huge and had layers of blueberries between cakes. The pancake monster at the table managed to polish them all off too!

A short drive (and well worth it) from downtown Portland, Morgan and Chris whisked us off to Willamette Valley.

Eric was our wine expert. He was informative and really made you feel at home without being pretentious.

At Bergstrom we tasted a Rose, a Chardonnay and 3 different types of Pinot Noir. Then we got to taste a few members only wines since we were with members. They were a real treat too. Our favorites were Cumberland Reserve and the de Lancellotti. It was also my favorite Rose I have tried.

If you are ever in the area I would highly recommend this winery.

Thanks Bergstrom!!

We also stopped in at Colene Clemens Winery where we enjoyed another tasting and a delectable picnic basket.

One of my many weaknesses is bread. White, wheat, bread sticks, bagels, naan-you name it.

I’m more of a cook than a baker though so in the bread department I sometimes look for help. You can find garlic cheese biscuits in a bag at the bakery or even in a box on the baking aisle. I like to cook from scratch whenever possible though and I knew there had to be a better way. I think I have found it!

These biscuits are home run. Touch.Down.Sara. Way to score, big time.

How many sports words can I use to describe these biscuits.

Score? Me=1. “Premade” biscuits=zero.

Here are the components. Did you know that Biquick is just a simple way to measure out flour, shortening, salt, and baking powder all combined into one?

This is what the flour mixture looks like before you start combining the butter.

Pretty. This is what it looks like after everything is mixed together.

Now, line em up!

15 minutes later, VOILA!

They would be perfect with chili, spaghetti or stew.

GARLIC CHEESE BISCUITS

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups Bisquick

4 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces

3/4 cup cold milk, i used 1%

1 generous cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated

1/4 cup sour cream

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon parsley flakes

fresh pepper, five turns

Instructions and Directions:

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

In a bowl, combine Bisquick, garlic powder, pepper and parsley. Then combine the dry mixture with the butter, using a fork. Press the fork between the powder and butter to create smaller chunks. Do not over mix. The batter/dough should be lumpy.

Add cheese, milk and sour cream. Stir to combine.

Scoop the batter/dough onto a Silpat or parchment lined baking sheet. Should be 12. I used a 1/4 cup measure to scoop.

I am not a meatloaf fan but this turkey meatloaf with bacon is really tasty. I have been informed though that if you love traditional greasy beef meatloaf , that you might not be fooled. But it does have bacon and bacon makes everything better.

I hesitate to make this post because in pictures I haven’t found a way to make meatloaf look pretty. But here goes-

See? It just doesn’t look pretty. But what is does do? It goes well with peas and mashed potatoes. And this recipe is not greasy at all.

All the choppers.

Does anyone else cook their bacon on the side burner of the grill? I love this because then my house doesn’t smell like bacon for two days! Also, the grease doesn’t get all over the kitchen.

This is the spot where I will skip posting the picture of the raw meatloaf being mixed.

Here is the final product! The oven mitt helps make the picture prettier.

And the final “final” product. Yes I slather my meatloaf in ketchup. I rarely use ketchup but meatloaf is the exception.

TURKEY MEATLOAF

Adapted from Emeril

Ingredients:

6 pieces of bacon (you can use turkey bacon here but you need to use 1 tablespoon oil to cook onion and pepper)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Cook bacon, until crisp. Cool and break into large crumbles (Are large crumbles really a thing you ask? Yes) Reserve 1 tablespoon of bacon grease and discard the rest.

Add onion and bell pepper, season to taste with salt and pepper, and cook until vegetables are soft. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Transfer mixture to a large bowl and add oats and evaporated milk. Let cool.

To the bowl, add turkey, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper (15 twists) , and chili powder, stir well to combine. Transfer mixture to a sprayed loaf pan and smooth the top. Bake until meatloaf is cooked through (an instant-read thermometer inserted in center should read 165 degrees), about 1 hour 10 minutes. 10 minutes before the meatloaf is done, remove and add ketchup design on top then return to oven. Let cool in pan 10 minutes before slicing.